my vintage bottle of French vinegar sold for over $200 on Ebay. Someone is going to be kinda mad if they ever open this one. BUT, Ebay will only allow us sellers to auction the collectable bottles and their labels rather than the wine itself as auctioning wine is against their policies. And, quite frankly, I started the auction at $9.99 with no reserve so its not like I ever though the wine would get up to that price! (Can you tell I am struggling with seller's guilt? Not so much that it stopped me from offering the buyer the second bottle I have for the same price)

:-)
Seth

I've made $10.00 from these ads at the top of the page..thanks

So our neighbor's son wedding was great. It was in their backyard under a tent behind their 1797 Federal house with a fantastic view of the Bay. It was catered by a local caterer in Belfast, Trillium. They had a full bar and served apple cider martinis which were very tasty. The passed hors d'oeurves were vegetarian sushi which were passable and crab and avacado quesadillas, which looked wonderful, but yours truly didn't have any, and Greg was having too much fun to notice. There was also a cheese and fruit bar and an oyster bar...very swanky.

Dinner was a buffet with lamb kabobs and scallop kabobs. The lamb was really tender and lean though a bit cold. Greg said the scallops were lukewarm and a bit underdone. There were also big fresh orange and red tomato slices with purple basil which were great and colorful and the most memorable part of the dinner. We also had salad and rice pilaf.

The cake was gorgeous, five layers of square marble cake with a super smooth icing and small wine grapes and currants spilling over the sides, but the icing tasted too much like butter and the cake itself was hard...I guess you need that to make something so pretty. I always want my cakes to be moist, so they are always lopsided!

Anyway, we had a fabulous time. Food was secondary (can you believe I said that?) or even third on the list after the '80s cover band to which everyone danced

Enjoy,
Seth

My cousin Grace is an amazing entertainer. Everytime the ole family gets together, someone has the hutzpah to get Grace to have the party. I wish she would say no sometimes because she spends hours handmaking everything...not that I mind, but I can think of a thousand better things to do with my time than baking and cooking for my cousins! Seriously, if I lived where the gatherings tend to be, I would just put out a bottle of vodka and some cheese and get out of the way, lest I be trampled by the booze hounds in the clan (that would pretty much be my immediate family)

Anyway, dear Grace sent me the following recipe to try for the Haute for Hospice show cocktail party. Its what everyone wants in a dessert, butter, sugar and some chocolate.

12 whole(double) graham crackers
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/2 c. chopped pecans

Place crackers in jelly-roll pan so that bottom is completely covered.

Melt butter and sugar together, bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes exactly. Pour syrup over crackers, sprinkle with nuts.

Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Cool only slightly before cutting.

Makes about 48
Note: I've experimented with finely grated chocolate added to syrup on crackers before nuts; delicious too.


I made peanut butter cookies last night after Greg's incredible grilled pork suppah. They are extremely easy and taste great:

1 cup natural peanut butter (super chunky)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar or splenda
1 tblspoon butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon flour

Combine ingredients, mixing after each addition and then form into balls and place on cookie sheet. Flatten with tines of a fork and place in preheated (I made the mistake of putting a small batch into a preheating oven and the bottoms burned) 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool on pan and then transfer to mouth.

Enjoy,
Seth

oh, by the way, my bottle of vinegar....I mean, uhh, Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1965, is up to $112.50 on Ebay...shhhhhh

:-)

Seth

Took the day off today to hang out with the hippies and the mules at the Common Ground Fair. We met my sister Ann there and had a great time going through all the craft booths and watching the mules and the work horses. Lunch on the fly was cheese and sausage calzone for me, fried clams for Greg (suprise suprise) and a sausage on a stick for Ann. She was pretty popular at the fair, being a green soul herself, seemed like everyone knew her. We went apple tasting and learned all about the different flavors apples take on depending on when you harvest them. That was kind of cool.

Got back to house guests we don't know who are staying with us during a neighbor's wedding weekend. They went out on the town with the wedding party while we are staying in. Greg is grilling a pork loin which he split in two and stuffed with fresh rosemary and garlic, tied up and threw on his grill. We still pretend its summer up here, so I cut up some garden fresh zucchini into strips and tossed it with salt, pepper, garlic, and butter then wrapped it in foil for the grill. Damn thats good. We are hunkering down for the second half of Empire Falls, the movie, which so far is pretty close to the book. Rich Russo lives down the street and taught at Colby when I was there....so thats my brush with fame for the day.

Come back on Sunday when I'll tell ya about the food from the wedding.

Enjoy,
Seth

so, I am now getting hit with at least a spam comment a day. I've had to institute a word verification command so that only humans can leave comments. Sorry about this folks. Leave it to a few bots to ruin it for the rest of us.

Seth

Greg and I went to dinner down at 3Tides last night so that we could get our David/Sarah/Luna fix for the week. It was a perfect evening, we got there early so that we would beat the rush and have time to chat with David and Sarah, which is always a great time.

Greg and I talked about the "haute for hospice" show and he thought I should make the sweets for the cocktail party before. There will be enough other food from area restaurants, but nobody is appealing to the sweet teeth in the crowd. I'll prolly make lemon squares with shortbread crust, toffee bars, and these brown sugar and graham cracker cookies that my cousin made the other weekend that were out of this world......mmmm can't wait for that sugar high.

Seth :-)

I have a bottle of 1965 Chateau Lafite Rothschild up for sale on Ebay this week. My parents purchased a case of it in Bermuda in the 60s and the stuff is awful! I can't even cook with it cause it tastes so bad. We've tried to decant bottles over the years for special occasions and there is just no drinking it. We even let it "breathe" overnight and all it is still good for is filling water ballons. My parents think its because the sail back from Bermuda was so hairy that the wine kept moving with every movement of the boat. I think it was just a bad year, and apparently the wine collectors on Ebay know that too, since it hasn't gotten above $9.99 yet. Other bottles of vintage Chateau Lafite are selling for hundreds....leave it to my parents to buy the worst vintage from that winery in decades!

Enjoy,
Seth

only 7 cents today.....sigh

Big score today at Marden's in Waterville. I hopped in the car with my Harry Potter book on disc...all 36 disks worth and headed off to Gardiner to an auction preview. Decided after looking at a lot of junk to head to Augusta and see if I could find some food for Sebastian to help his allergies. He sits around all day and licks his paws and shakes his head 'cause his ears are itchy. We switched the dogs' food to Wellness brand, which is wheat free, but it still makes him itchy. I ended up with potato and duck kibble from Nature's Balance which is hawked by Dick Van Patten of "Eight is Enough" fame. Anyway, since Waterville is only about 24 miles further, I wanted to check out the new Mardens and had to go up to Colby for some museum business.
When I got to Marden's they still had Nature's Balance for 1/2 price, so I bought about 6 months worth for the pups. Sebastian seems to be less itchy when he eats it. Normally, a 30 lb bag costs $40.00! These were $19. I did my happy bargain dance and loaded up eight of the bags in my cart as people stared with bemused expressions.

By now you are wondering what this has to do with PEOPLE food, aren't you? Well, after that I went up to the museum and ended up having lunch with some of my friends who work there. They took me to the coffee shack II on Kennedy Memorial Drive, right past the Black Stove Shop. Its a groovy small deli where you can order sandwiches, or burgers and dogs, or get donuts and coffee. Super nice people and good food. I ordered a chicken salad on marble rye (there were three choices of chicken salad and I had the regular as opposed to the cranberry walnut or some other kind) I was asked if I wanted it pressed, which means grilled in a sandwich press...a delighful way to toast the bread. My friends each had a reuben and a pressed cheese sandwich which they liked very much. For dessert we split a key lime and white chocolate chip cookie...a great way to end a fast lunch.

Everything was very nice....B+ all around.

Enjoy,
Seth

I'm off to Gardiner to an auction preview today to look at a chest of drawers for a client in Chicago. I told you the other day that if I went south on Rte 1, I liked to stop at Megunticook market....if I go out Rte 3 from Belfast to Augusta, I love to stop at the Mobil station in Belfast across from Dairy Queen to get a muffin for breakfast. Its hard to belive, but I think the Mobil station has the best muffins in town, and I just love a great muffin. Most places use almond extract to make their muffins, and this is one of the biggest mistakes one can make. Almonds and blueberries just don't mix very well. The almond extract gets in the way of any fruit taste the muffin might actually have.

Remember that episode on Seinfeld about muffin tops? I completely agree....the rest of the muffin is just filler, but the muffin top is pure gold!

Enjoy,
Seth

psych, you guys made me a buck eighty-five yesterday! Another two months of this and Google sends me a check for $100.00. I'll take you all out for ice cream---though by then it will almost be December and the ice cream places will be closed. Hmmmm.....I'll make holiday candy then and send it out as a nice thank you to all my loyal foodie readers.

Thanks.

Enjoy,
Seth

So, I caved....mea culpa, mea culpa....you may have noticed the google ad bar at the top of the Maine Foodie page here. It essentially crawls through my posts and adds relavent ads to the bar in hopes that readers will click and click and click some more. There are actually some very interesting recipes and other foodie related ads...I tell you this because when you click on one of the four ads up there and then click on any of the content from that ad, I get a tiny amount of cash...the more you click, the fuller my piggy bank becomes.
For instance, someone clicked on the content yesterday and I received 7 cents. wooo hooooo
Now, if all 49 people who visited the site yesterday clicked on, I could potentially realize...hmmm, lemme get the calculator out....$3.43 cents. not too shabby for the foodster here...In a few years I could have enough cash to dine at the Edge in Lincolnville but not drink!

So click away up there..do it for the foodster.

P. S. I am still trying to come up with something yummy and cold, or at least room temp to serve to the 200 partygoers for the "Haute for Hospice" show. Perhaps just a ham.....mmmmm.

Enjoy,
Seth

Sometimes when I'm travelling south from Northport during the day, I time my trip so that I can stop at Megunticook Market in Camden. I love taking the back way from here to Rte 90 and winding my way around Megunticook Lake on Route 52.
The market makes great fresh sandwiches and they have a wonderful salt foccacia that is perfect with roast beef and chedder. If I happen to pass by during breakfast, the market also has a great bakery in the front. Its one of my favorite secret places to go when traveling around on my own.....come on, you all have them too, right?

Enjoy,
Seth

Sorry to leave you all hanging about the Lobster Vichyssoise saga, but I had to go down to NY to help my parents move out of their house.

So, when last we heard, the completed recipe was ready for the fridge and needed an overnight to chill. The next day, I fed it to Greg and our neighbor who stopped for dinner and the overwhelming response was that it was too salty and the taste of curry was too much. That said to me that the stock was much too strong and needed diluting, so the next day I made a full batch of potato leek soup and combined it with the already cold vichyssoise. Greg was going out to play mah jong with the girls, so I made him take it along and reviews were great. Everyone thought it was wonderful. But, after all that I don't think I'm going to make it for the Hospice benefit for several reasons: 1. I can't taste it myself 2. Its cold 3. its not easy to make 4. its not an easy "finger food" to pass. Back to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

Enjoy,
Seth

I'm a pizza snob. There, I said it. I grew up with New York pizza: thin crust that was perfectly chewy and soft, just the perfect amount of sauce and great cheese. We folded the big slices to eat them. My mom used to pick me up from school on Fridays (we had 1/2 days on Fridays) and we'd go to Marios for slices. Those were the days. I lived in Chicago for 10 years and hated the pizza there. The thin crust was the best in Chicago and when you would get a pizza delivered, it would be a round pizza cut into squares...go figure!
When we moved to Maine, I didn't think about the pizza....visions of insulation and cords of wood dominated my thoughts instead. But when we first decided to go for pizza there was nowhere to go! I mean there is Pizza hut, but, yuck! Then there is Alexia's on Main Street in Belfast. I never thought a place like that could go downhill until I went there before going to the movies the other night. What a dump this place has turned out to be. At 6pm on a Friday night, it was dirty; pretty filthy actually. All I wanted was a slice of cheese and what they had available looked like it was cooked hours before and shoved into that plexiglass display case. I mean, this pizza was old! I think also that the kitchen in restaurants that are dirty should never be seen, yet at Alexia's, the kitchen is right there and you can just tell that the people running the place were not really into cleanliness. So, thats all I have to say about Alexia's. The rating system here is easy: F F F F across the board.

Enjoy,
Seth

so, whodda thought, the lobster stock made with the bodies and water with a bit o' wine was "lobsterier" to coin a Gregism than the stock I put all the fancy stuff into....so I combined them and reduced. seven lobsters gave me about 1 quart of stock! The way I'm going, how many lobsters am I going to need to feed 200 people a shot of soup? Oh David!!!!!! :-)

Anyway, Greg was so happy to be bothered by me wanting a taster. We went through all the phases. I got a mite pissy when he dunked his beer bread into the boiling stock and left a floater!

After the stock was reduced I melted a quarter stick of butter and added some olive oil into a pot and shoved in one leek, and two honkin large Yukon Gold taters, cut up. The I decided to separate that mixture so I could experiment and to one I added some curry powder and left the other plain, save for some fresh nutmeg, sea salt and ground pepper. I sauteed the mixtures for a while and then slowly added stock to both. When the taters were tender, I blendered them and got a smooth, thick mixture...not what I want to try and pour into two hundred shot glasses.

To stem the flowability problem, I addded the rest of the stock...yikes thats a lot of stock for two potatoes. Greg tasted both and pronounced the curry infused soup the best, "hands-down" I then combined the two, added a bit more curry and stirred over low heat until heated through.

When I hurried out to the road with a sample for a passing neighbor, her comment was "its different...tastes like a lobster tamale with curry....not my cup of tea" Well, shoot! we'll see what becomes of it tomorrow after its had time to chill and meld.

Perhaps I'll just make little peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead

Humph!
Seth

Thanks to David from 3Tides, I have seven good sized lobster bodies cut into small pieces simmering on the stove right now in a brew that makes Greg's head swoon and my stomach do flip flops! I'm making lobster stock....something I will never taste as I am allergic to shell fish. The smell makes me queezy, but Greg said it was pure heaven, so I'll take his word for it.

David told me that most he has checked for making stock do so without using the head sack of the lobster...some of the sites I checked with also say to discard the head and innards before beginning, so I played it safe and snipped off the legs and the little sand digger claws and added those to the claws and the tails in a big pot with all sorts of other good junk and it has to simmer for at least an hour. I put the bodies in another pot and .....are you ready for this?.....tell me how spoiled my dogs are......I'm making them a bisque for dinner out of the bodies!

So, into the lobster stock pot goes:

1 stick butter
3/4 yellow onion chopped
2 medium leeks
3 stalks celery
3 cloves garlic
3 types of fresh herbs: sage, thyme, and lemon balm
sea salt and pepper to taste
all get sauteed until lightly brown
add:
3 cups vegetable stock
the cut up lobster with drippings from shells
enough white wine and water to cover shells (i used almost about 3/4 bottle of wine, but then again, I'm a lush)
also added a bit of tomato sauce I had left over from lunch (optional)

So thats what simmering so far.
I've decided to try making curried potato leek soup with the stock to see how that is first and then go experimenting from there.

I'll let you know how it ends.
Thank you David!

Enjoy,
Seth

Greg is organizing a fashion show to benefit the local Hospice Volunteer organization. HE has enlisted the help of some local restaurants to provide nibbles for the cocktail party before the show. He asked me to make something if I want and I've thought about concocting a cold lobster vichyssoise and serving it in small shot glasses. I have to come up with a recipe, so I should experiment soon. I will keep my faithful fans (you know who you are) posted on the experimentation. My main concern is whether to make it chuncky or smooth.....any thoughts to that? I'd appreciate some comments.

Well, it happened again....Greg and I ended up driving around aimlessly, trying to figure out where to go have a cheap and cheerful meal at about 7:30 last night. We decided to try Oriental Plaza, the Chinese restaurant in East Belfast. We used to go to Oriental Plaza when it was located in the Main Street Market shopping center in Belfast. When walking in there, one could be transported to any Chinese restaurant around the country. It was surreal, because the interior decor was almost identical to the Chinese place we used to frequent in Chicago. NOW. the Plaza is located in the old Blueberry Bay restaurant/diner on Route 1. The seating area is huge and you still think that you are in a IHOP style restaurant save for the black Chinese coromandel panels on the walls. The booths and lighting fixtures are still blue and its a pretty funny experience.

Greg is standing here telling me to put in the review that the bathrooms are sticky and there is no way to get out of the bathroom without turning the handle on the door, so wear long sleeves. In my own terms, its the type of bathroom that makes you flush the toilet with your foot.

So onto the food. It was plentiful, thats for sure. We had an order of Orange beef and hot chicken curry. The amount of food that arrived would have fed four to five people, so the value was there. The curry they used tasted old and generic. It was certainly not "hot," the way I ordered it. The orange beef was really not very flavorful, but the beef was tender and tasted good. Vegetables were fresh, but as I say, the taste is not as good as Seng Thai down the street.
On a Saturday night at 7:30, there were only three tables of diners, which doesn't bode well for the place. I think most people in the know would rather go to Seng Thai, and thats where we will be headed in the future if we want Chicken curry again.

Food: C-
Service: D
Atmosphere: D
Cleanliness: F

Enjoy,
Seth

I have a new way to do a roast chicken that makes it wonderfully tender and juicy, and use the herbs in my garden to a wonderful effect.
As you've heard me before, we love little chicky night in our house because it means we can have curried chicken salad the next day for lunch and then have chicken soup sometime later in the week.

Anyway, I thoroughly wash and dry the chicken and then stuff the inside with fresh sage and rosemary...not really stuff, but put a big bunch in there. Then I drizzle olive oil all over the top and liberally sprinkle sea salt and pepper all over it, and put the while thing in a roasting pan with high sides and roast for approximately 2 hours on 350. The salt and the herbs really flavor the chicken so well and it comes out all tender and amazing. yummm

A friend gave me a bunch of blackberries the other day so I made a lemon blackberry tart to go with the chicken....I decided to use Splenda as the sweetener and it turned out ok, but there really is nothing like good ole sugar!

Enjoy,
Seth

Hey all, been on the road a lot lately. Just back from Chicago where I had lunch with a client at a hip downtown restaurant called NAHA. Its a huge space for a Chicago restaurant and in the space of the old Gordon's, a place my ex-boss used to take us to celebrate work accomplishments. When Gordon closed and left Chicago, he moved to Camden where he became increasingly bitter about life and disparaged people who lived here as unsophisticated. We had Gordon to dinner here one night and he regaled us with tales that are too sordid to type about! Well, ole Gordon moved on and moved to New Zealand to become a Sommolier...good for Gordon.
Anyway, I digress...NAHA was a great place for lunch. I had the best Rustic Chicken Ceasar salad that had lightly seasoned roasted potatoes, juicy chicken, shaved parm, oil cured tomatos, garlic crutons and wonderfully fresh greens. My client had the roasted chicken salad with Crimson Raisins, Pine Nuts and Fava Beans. By Chicago standards for lunch, it wasn't pricey at $14.00 a salad. We were good and had water and nothing else and got out of there for $32.00. The decor was very swanky, done in muted chocolate suedes and grays. The service was fantastic, I had someone pour water for me evertime I took a sip from my glass. I loved it.

Everything gets an A here.

Enjoy,
Seth

I went to the grocery store on Thursday and there were great deals on meat everywhere. Greg has to have meat at dinner because of the protein. I never ate much meat at night before we met, because I never wanted to cook it, and frankly, working for a museum just didn't pay me enough to eat meat all the time.

So, I snapped up all these meat specials and brought them home to freeze. Last night I took out a beautiful pork tenderloin to cook, but decided that we weren't going to eat all of it, so I cleaved it into thirds and then made pork medallions with what we were going to eat. I then ground fresh pepper over all of them, and marinated in a mixture of fresh leeks, red wine, soy sauce and white pepper. I sauteed the mixture in butter and olive oil and added baby asparagus on top to just steam until done.

When ready, I took out the meat and the vegetables and then added a bit more butter, flour and redwine to make a very colorful sauce for the top of the meat . It was pretty good.

Enjoy,
Seth

Money saving tip at the grocery store:

In this day and age of really expensive cold cuts, I have decided that the sliced turkey one gets at the deli counter for $6.99 a pound, just isn't worth it. Instead, I try to get a fresh turkey breast in the meat section of the deli, doctor it up with fresh herbs and spices, whatever you like, and then roast it in the morning before lunch. We get a good three days worth of meat out of it and then I can use the carcass to make broth from. Its a much more economical way to serve lunch. I just bought a 6 lb turkey brest for $1.49 a pound and it isn't processed, doesn't have as much water injected into it as the pressed turkey you get at the deli counter and it is much healthier for you.

Enjoy,
Seth

Hey all, here is a recipe that had everyone cheering with their mouths full at dinner the other night...that is between gulps of water to put the fires out in their mouths! Every once in a while we have taco nights with homemade filling, refried beans, corn or whole wheat tortillas, cheese and fresh tomatos. Its easy and fun and entertaining. A meal that one can make with the kids or friends gathered in the kitchen. Everyone gets to help chop and such.

Greg wanted tacos the other night, but I didn't have ground beef or chicken ready to go. Decided that we could try Sausage tacos! I had a roll of ground hot sausage that I browned and doctored up a bit...I tell you it was an instant success.

1 lb of hot ground sausage
medium chopped onion
either a package of taco seasonings or:
dashes of ground red pepper, chili powder, couple of fresh cloves of garlic, salt and pepper cilantro, etc.
chopped tomato
chopped lettuce if desired
grated cheese...we use whats on hand, usually a brick of chedder
heated refried beans
tortillas

Put it all together and have fun!

Enjoy,
Seth

We had roast chicken last night for dinner...its Sebastian's favorite (for those of you who don't know, Sebastian is a BIG black beast of a giant schnauzer, weighing in at 115 lbs) I made it with a rub of fresh rosemary and sage from the garden and stuffed the inside with oranges and onions. Also made a white wine risotto and sauteed brussel sprouts for Greg (yuck) and lima beans for me...mmmmm Anyway, Sebastian has a routine when I roast a chicken that he never does with any other meal...he lays outside the gate to the kitchen while its cooking and just sniffs the air and moans every once in a while (we have chicken a lot, just cause I love it when he gets into his groove thang). When we carve it up, he whines outside the gate because he thinks he should be the one to get the first taste. He and Libby (Our other giant schnauzer and David's favorite pooch) usually get snacks after dinner. Last night however, we ate dinner while watching a movie while it thundered and poured rain outside. Sebastian hates thunder and he skulked off to a dark corner of the bathroom to wait it out.....or so I thought. When I got back to the kitchen, the gate had been opened and the chicken carcass was nowhere to be seen...the roasting pan however, was right where I'd left it on the counter. Sebastian was asleep on his back, paws in the air, in the corner of the kitchen...with chicken grease all over his beard! I was amazed that he ate the whole carcass, leaving only the onion from the inside as evidence. I am still worried that the cooked bones will harm him. I stayed up late into the night watching to make sure that he didn't get sick, choke, etc. I fed him ice chips to cool his throat, but he just went about his business and contentedly went to sleep with his head under our bed. He seems fine and perfectly normal this morning....no adverse effects yet. I hope he'll be ok.

Hey all. Well, I can finally say with some assurance that summer is here on the midcoast. How do I know? We have to wait for tables to clear at the local eateries! (Actually, I know because my roses are in full swing.

Anyway, you didn't come here to hear me wax poetic about my garden. Greg and I decided to drive to New York on a whim last week to get some errands done and have some business meetings. On our way down, we stopped at Moody's Diner in Waldoboro for breakfast. Now, I usually stop at Moody's in the wintertime on my way south and get a cinnamon roll to go and they come out all warm from the kitchen. I hardly ever stop for a full mea, but Greg likes his eggs and toast in the morning, so we stopped. By 10am, the place was packed! Hardly an instate license plate in the lot (locals eat early and are probably out by 7). Our server was really in a state when we got there and was really not interested in taking our orders. But she did. I had a sausage and cheese omlet with toast and Greg had a burger. The portions were enormous, but the omlet wasn't done and they charged me .60 cents extra for the cheese even though the omlet was listed on the menu for one price. Greg got soggy fries and a kind of dry burger...two things he can't stand. We did get a cinnamon roll to split and that was good, but they are much better in the winter months.
All I can say is never have that much sugar and plan to drive another 6 hours...I was so sleepy!

Back to work...this job thing does get in the way of blogging, now doesn't it.

By the way, thanks to the readers who recommended my blog on Chowhound.com That was very cool. I love chowhound and used to have a link to it somewhere on my blog page...hmmmm I am not the most technologically saavy dude around, so I'll have to work on getting that back.

Oh..the ratings for Moody's
Chaaam.....A
Food....B-
Service....B-

Enjoy,
Seth

After several exhausting days working on the house...NEVER start 4 projects at once......we had the age ole debate about going someplace local that is "Cheap and Cheerful." Where the hell would that be! Tonight we have a candidate for that very spot. A place that we never even thought to try since they've been open after a remodel. Whooda thought that Willy World right here in Northport would be so excellent for the Cheap and Cheerful type of meal. So the place is now called "David's @ Willy World" complete with a pool table and live music on Friday and Saturday nights.
David was slammed and only had one server when we got there, so after a short wait, David came by himself and took our orders for wine and Mike's Hard Lemonade (beer and wine coolers are available too) as well as for Fried Haddock for Greg and the Cheeseburger with sweet potato fries for me. How delightful the food was! Perfectly crispy fries, moist quarter pounder with creamy cheese and a lightly battered and fried fresh haddock that was perfectly cooked on the inside. The decor is suitable, lots of nautical things to look at, fishing nets and paintings of ships on log roundels. Since there was a wait, David told us to make ourselves at home at the salad bar and then brought warm bread and soft salted butter, our favorite! Both David and his server were very attentive and really served the large crowd well. There are three tables outside and more inside where we were. Greg and I mentioned that we wanted to play miniature golf and David went and found us clubs and balls...we don't think anyone has used the course in awhile. Free icecream after dinner was the best treat.
This is really the perfect antidote to some of the other places in town that are getting a bit tired.

Food: A
Service: A+
Atmosphere: Suitable to cheap and cheerful: B+

Willy World is just South of the Blue Goose in Northport on Rte 1. For three drinks, Fried Haddock and a burger, the bill was $27.00 and change...not too bad for dinner and drinks out on the "town."

Enjoy,
Seth

Greetings from searingly hot, windy, and rainy Florida. I came down here for my mom's birthday, even though it is terrible weather and I hate this type of humid heat...but, parental guilt works so well on me! I got the "You don't really want to come down here, you should make the trip" and then the next sentance was the killer "but I would love it if you would come down".

Aannnyway...we went out last night and had a fabulous meal at a local place I've never been to and we got talking about having Whispers at the old Whisper Inn in Sarasota. The first one I had was with my grandmother years ago and we got schnokered on them. If you've never had a whisper, you should. They are decadent and delicious. Usually served in a big martini glass, the whisper is a delicate balance of ice cream and booze....mmmmmm, two of my favorite things. The recipe has always been a well-kept secret until the advent of the internet. I hereby give to you the recipe and urge all the drinkers out there to serve this as a party favor at least once.

Ingredients:
1 oz kahlua
1 oz amaretto
1 oz vodka
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
ice
Directions:
Mix in blender...not too much ice, the trick to the whisper is to make it smooth, like a thick chocolate shake.

Enjoy,
Seth

oops, well a perceptive reader emailed to tell me that I had excluded most viewers from posting comments because of the settings I had chosen for the site.....stupid me, thats what I get for being a complete techno moron. I have changed the settings so hopefully, you'll be able to comment on my scathing reviews and tell me how totally off base I am!

Enjoy,
Seth (posting from my window overlooking the Gulf of Mexico as we wait for tropical storm Arlene to arrive in Florida.)

There is not much choice in dining establishments for a Sunday night in Belfast. We aimlessly drove to town while considering our options last night....pizza hut? naw.....Darby's?...probably closed and the fries are limp.....ok, lets see whats up at Seng Thai. We've eaten at Seng Thai a number of times and it was always good, but never "wow!" so we were kind of lacklustre about the whole thing. I do have to say that we left feeling "Wow, that was an excellent meal." Hooray for our team, we cheered ourselves up on a Sunday night with food out!

So, we get to the Thai shack on Rte 1 in East Belfast and the place is packed with cars. Nowhere even to park....I finally squeezed in next to a few cars and we went in expecting to wait a while because the place is small.....it appeared that everyone came in separate cars and ate together, because there were empty tables to spare...another good sign.

So Greg looks at me and squinches up his face and says "I'm SO hungry...I'm starving!!!....Lets get lots of food!" We ordered the crispy potatos and the chive dumplings to start....the potatos came out first and they were slices of sweet potatos dipped in tempura batter and deep fried and came with a nice peanut sauce. The presentation was divine, even down to the radish cut into a rose blossom. The potatos were fresh and excellent and I highly recommend them. Next to come out was the plate of four chive dumplings. The flavor was good, but I was expecting something different and couldn't get passed the texture, which was a bit slimy. Greg loved them and raved about them. We ended up leaving one of the dumplings behind.
I was in the mood for spicy, so I had the chicken in hot basil leaves extra hot....my mouth was on fire for the rest of the night....loved every bite! I need to figure out how to make that at home...damn! Greg had the garlic chicken which was very fresh...even down to the fresh garlic...an A+ in my book. We cleaned out plates and shared a bowl of ginger ice cream....a perfect evening.
One piece of advice though...stick with the American red wines...the Thai one that they advertise is not as good as the other wines they serve.
A new coat of paint would serve this place well.

Food A for excellent
Service A-
Atmosphere: Kind of a dive on the inside. Could do with spruceing up. But we loved the sparkles on a lot of the pictures! B for the sparkles!

Enjoy,
Seth

Seems that tasting restuarants are all the rage in New York now. When I was there two weeks ago, I ended up going to two very different places, one was fairly middle brow on the upper East Side, close to the apartment that I use when Im there and the other was down near Gramercy Park in a very chi-chi part of town. The tables were about three inches apart in this place, and at the end of our meal there (I was taken there by a client) we were asked to vacate our table for the waiting customers at the door! I've never seen anything like it.

The first place I went to with Greg near the apartment was called Fig and Olive on Lexington and 64th. It is a small place, serving wine only, with the cool added attraction of a long communal eating bar in the center of the restaurant. When we sat down, our server brought us four different olive oils and bread, with a side of figs. The menu offered two ways of ordering. One could either get a variety of tasting appetizers such as cheese, vegetable, or meat plates or toasted crostini with a variety of toppings to spoon on. OR one could order more filling meals to share that were more like lunch portions. We decided to just order the whole first menu minus the meat tray. Crostini toppings included roasted red pepper, a confit of different colored tomatos, an eggplant caviar, and other things I can't remember. Cheeses were mostly hard and sharp but with a gorgonzolla and a goat cheese added in, the vegetables were mostly hip, New York style things like roasted leeks, chard, etc.
I know we got out of there pretty full for under $60.00, which is very good for two people in New York City.

I'll talk more about the other place when I can remember what the name of it was.

Enjoy!
Seth

Good Pizza

Well, last night I think I made a really perfect pizza. I've been experimenting over the last couple of years with sauces and crusts and toppings, but I really liked what we came up with last night. I've tried to make a healthy crust with a mixture of cornmeal and oat flour, but the dough just doesn't rise and the pizza ends up tasting like yeast! I then tried cornmeal and whole wheat flour and the same thing happened, so I went back to plain old whole wheat flour and only let it rise once for a single pizza and twice for two pizzas. I also just dispensed with making sauce all together because after watching the pizza makers in NYC...if you love pizza, you know that NYC has the best pizza ever made. Someday, I will apprentice myself to a pizza maker in NY and find out exactly how to make their crust.

ANNNNNNyway....here is what I did:
You'll need a pizza stone...never thought they worked until Vicky gave me one for my birthday...thank you Vicky!

for the crust:

1 cup hot tap water (not too hot)
2 packs yeast

dump the yeast in the bottom of a bowl and sprinkle the hot water overtop let stand ten minutes until frothy.

2 cups whole wheat flour
couple of dashes of sea salt
crumbled rosemary leaves
perhaps some oregano and or garlic powder
olive oil

Toppings:
Fresh tomatos (with basil when the season hits)
chedder or monteray Jack cheese
and your favorite toppings

Put ingredients except olive oil in a bowl and pour ready made yeast mixture on top. Stir together with a fork until dough comes together. It should be dry. Add 1/4 cup olive oil as needed over dough and begin kneading dough in the bowl with your hands. Dough should come together in a ball at this point. I keep my dough in the bowl and knead it for several minutes, adding more olive oil as it gets sticky. Don't over knead! When it feels right, cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and a tea towel and place in a warm spot (I have this nifty warmer burner on my oven that I use sometimes) and let stand for about an hour or until doubled.

If you want to make two pizzas: After the dough has doubled, punch it down, halve it with a dough blade and let the two doughs rise for another hour.

Spread olive oil on your pizza stone and dump dough in the middle, pushing and pressing it to the sides and corners...if your dough doesn't cooperate, let it sit for a couple of minutes on the stone and it will rise again for you enough to push and prod some more.

Cover dough with a sprinking of olive oil and a dash more sea salt for flavor, cover with tomatos and your favorite toppings (last night was spinach and sausage) and then your favorite cheese..we use either monteray Jack or chedder most nights...it gives the pizza that much more flavor. There is a great jalapeno chedder that works wonders. Pop in a 400 degree oven on a lower shelf until the cheese is golden brown.

I can't believe we ate the whole thing!

Enjoy,
Seth

So you'd think with all this weather to slit your wrists by, that I would have time to sit inside and update the Mainefoodie blog. Sigh.....more excuses, excuses, excuses....I just haven't gotten around to telling you about the great meal we had at Francine's in Camden. Well, if I don't lose this post before publishing, you'll hear about it right here. I want to thank all the people who have emailed me to tell me what they like and don't like about the Mainefoodie blog. I have registered all your suggestions and decided that I will continue anyway I want. After all, it is my blog. I guess I should think a bit harder before posting my review about a new restaurant in Belfast on the Village Soup letter board. I got raked over the coals on that one! At least it let me know that people are awake out there.

So Mainefoodie has been busy with other writing projects and client hand-holding lately. But I resolved to sit here and write down some thoughts about Francine's, so here goes:

Francine's, Camden Maine

A wonderful friend and neighbor took Greg and me to Francine's the other night for dinner as payback for watching her house and watering her plants over the winter. Very nice payback if you ask me. Greg and I have stopped into Francine's on numerous occasions to see if we can get a table, but were always turned away. Its a very small place, on a back street in Camden across from where the old YMCA was. It opened about two years ago. We got there right on time for our 7:30 reservation and had to wait by the door for almost 30 mintues for our table. Since the place is small, Greg acted as the doorman because he had to stand right in front of the entrance!

The walls are painted a dark chocolate brown and are devoid of most decoration except for a few mirrors. Lots of glowing candles around and a bar with about 6 seats. The smells from the kitchen that night were a mixture of garlic and rosemary....my favorite!

We finally sat down and were left to our own devices for about 15 more mintues before our server came over with menus and asked what we wanted to drink. The menu looked great, lots of seafood (unfortunately for me) and some delectible looking turf food. I stared with the spinach soup with porchini mushrooms. The soup was incredible, being broth based instead of cream based, which one would expect. Greg and our friend shared appetizers of a whole soft shelled crab, battered and cooked, served on a bed of celery root and a special of roasted oysters, which they said was out of this world. The presentation was wonderful and raves were given all around.

Main courses were: steak frites for me which was beautiful and seasoned perfectly. The steak was butter soft and beautiful. Greg had a halibut steak and our friend had the tuna...both of which were moist and tender. I haven't had a meal this good locally in a very long time. We skipped dessert as there were other hungry looking souls waiting for our table.

My only adverse comment besides having to wait would be the decor. I like clutter, so the place felt a bit bare to me with nothing on the walls. The atmosphere was better than any of the restaurants in Belfast though.

Ratings:

Food: A+

Atmosphere: A-

Service: B+ (It seemed like our server's first day)

Enjoy,

Seth

Hey food fans! Maine Foodie has been on the road for the last week or so, and there is lots to tell. So we should have some great posts here over the next few days. But first, I want to back up to a few weeks ago when Greg and I met my sister and her friend down in Rockland at the Park Street Grille for drinks. Greg and I were starving, so we ended up staying for food. The margaritas were very good, but pricey at around $7.00 per. The food was average, I had a chicken quesadilla and greg had the chimichanga. His was dry, but there was some good flavor. Mine was a lot of food, but not as good as some that I have had in the past. This one was a bit soggy, which can happen. If I go to a place a second time, I usually ask for extra crispy on the outside. I am still searching for that elusive, fantastic, quesadilla that I used to get in Chicago at the Mexican joint we frequented. Anyway, with booths lined up against the windows, the Park Street Grille is a nice place to meet after work for a round or two. We had a great time and the server was really nice. I'd recommend the place for drinks and appetizers.
Atmosphere: B
Food: B-
Service: A

Enjoy!
Seth

Last night was one of those nights where I kept opening the fridge, hoping something delicicous and interesting would appear as if by magic. All that was there was ground turkey, some frozen sausages, and an old head of purple cabbage.....mmmmmmmmm. After yelling upstairs and asking Greg what he wanted for dinner, he said "make meatloaf!" Now I know to some, this might not sound delicious or interesting, but to the two of us, meatloaf is excellent. Turkey loaf on the other hand is kind of gross. So when all you have is ground turkey and sausage, you make turkey sausage meatloaf.....it was pretty darn good.

1lb of ground turkey
four sausages with casings removed, or ground sausage
1/2 cup of oatmeal
several dashes of Louisiana hot sauce
1 egg
a few pinches of oregano
a few dashes of soy sauce

combine all ingredients in a large bowl and dig in with both hands to knead together. when fully combined, shape the loaf and place on a broiler pan in a preheated 350 degree oven.
Bake for at least 30-45 minutes until firm and done.

The other thing we had in the kitchen was an acorn squash that had been around for a few weeks. I took my vegetable peeler to the outside skin then cut the squash in half and scooped out the seeds. Added a pat of butter or two to the wells, salt and peppered them and shoved them in the oven in a shallow pan filled with water. The squash was done when the meatloaf was ready and it was soooooo good.

Enjoy!
Seth

Pineapple upside-down cake

Ok, I know what you are all thinking..Oh my god, I haven't had that since my mom made it in the late '50s! I know you're thinking that because two people made that comment to me after I served it at dinner the other night.

It all started after our friend Sarah gave birth last week to little baby Luna, who was a month early. Sarah adores pineapple upside-down cake and so I thought I would try a recipe I found at www.epicurious.com For one, the recipe called for dark rum...mmmmmm and B, the cake is baked in cast-iron skillet (probably my favorite kitchen tool). I took the recipe and tweaked it just a bit.

When I took the cake out of the oven, Greg almost flew down the staircase from his studio and kept badgering me about making him one too. He actually wanted me to cut the cake in the shape of a crescent moon (not because the cutest baby in the world is named Luna, but because he wanted to eat the center!) He pouted and stuck out his bottom lip and wondered why I never made him cake anymore.....I told him when he gave birth, I would make him a pineapple upside-down cake!

Anyway, he pressured me to make another one for him and then agreed to share it with friends who came over for dinner....I have to say that the cake is amazingly rich and moist. Its a reat treat if you like pineapple. Its pretty easy to make too, and will impress all your friends.

One note....This recipe call for sugar, though I used Splenda for the body of the cake and brown sugar for the top and didn't really see any difference in taste.

For topping
I medium can of Dole pineapple chunks in juice (drain juice and reserve for later
3/4 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

For batter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-2 teaspoons ground cardamom
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon dark rum
reserved pineapple juice
2 tablespoons dark rum for sprinkling over cake

Special equipment: a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet

Preheat to 350 degrees
melt butter and brownsugar in skillet and cook for about 4 minutes until blended and completely melted. Take off heat and allow to cool slightly. Spread chunks of pineapple even over the butter sugar mixture.

In a large bowl, sift dry ingredients (I normally never do this because I don't want to dirty another bowl, but you might want to)

Cream butter and sugar together and add eggs one at a time making sure they are completely incorporated. mixture should be nice and thick. Add vanilla and rum. Alternately add dry ingredients and pineapple juice and mix until fully incorporated. Pour batter over butter sugar mixture making sure it spread evenly.

Cook in oven for between 30- 45 minutes depending on how hot your oven cooks. Test cake at 30 minutes for optimium moistness. If test comes out dry, pull pan out of oven and let sit for 5-7 minutes. HERE IS THE PART THAT SEEM HARD BUT ISN"T You might want to do this over the sink.

Take a cake plate that is larger than the skillet and invert it over the top of the skillet. Holding both the skillet and the plate firmly together...flip...cake should transfer to plate. Put chunks back in place and serve warm or at room temp.

Enjoy,
Seth

Papa J's Wine & Lobster Bar, East Belfast

After hauling wood around all day so that we were sore and crabby, Greg took me out on a date last night, sweet boy that he is. We decided to try the new restaurant that opened in East Belfast yesterday. I'd read about it in Village Soup and it sounded interesting. I knew there wouldn't be a lot on the menu for me since it bills itself as a lobster bar, but we decided to try it.

The restaurant opened up in the old Fat Boy's Diner. It promises great water views, but the windows overlook the RV resort, which is fine for right now since there are no patrons in the resort, but come summer, thats what you'll see when you look out the windows, a sea of shiny metal and lots of lawn chairs. So anyway, the interior has been spiffed up and we give them an A for effort there. A nice deep red wall color greets you in the foyer upon arrival, there are different shaped and colored lampshades over each of the tables, and two dining areas, both with televisions tuned to sporting events (strike one for a wine bar). Unfortunately, I felt that we were in a restaurant that was trying really hard not to be a diner, but failed. It tried to be cozy, but was a bit cold for me...floors painted a flat grey, diner tables with ugly abstract painted designs in mauve and gold, and wierd posters tacked to the accustical tiles on the ceiling. Just not the atmosphere for a place that calls itself a wine bar.

Service was very friendly and our server was so attentive. While they cleaned a table for us by the window, we were waiting out front and several people smiled and asked if we were being helped. The wine list was extensive and the prices were very reasonable. The red wine glasses are huge and fit nicely in one's hand. The owner came over to pour Greg's wine, but didn't welcome us until Greg asked if he was the owner. The first pour of wine was a bit small to the point where we looked at each other because it was noticeable. Greg wants me to mention that if you call yourself a wine bar, and you have enormous wine glasses, you should please your customers by filling the damn thing up more than a 1/4 full!! He said he'd even pay more for a better pour. My stoli on the rocks came in a small stemmed glass crammed with ice. I hate small rocks glasses primarily because I am a big guy and have large hands.

Menu was brought out to us on a chalk board and most everything was seafood. Besides seared sea scallops, lobster stew and clam chowder, the appetizers were standard bar fare..mozzerella sticks, wings, and jalapeno poppers, which I was dismayed about...have something a bit more original. I must say the prices are very reasonable. I chose what I thought said Penne Chicken (12.95, but no pasta arrived with it, so I think it had something to do with being pan fried. Greg had the 1 1/4 lb lobster for 14.95. Each came with a salad of greens with tomatos, red peppers and purple onions. We chose the house dressing of balsamic and roasted garlic vinagrette which was excellent. A lovely looking basket of warm herb bread came out with the salads. The bread smelled great, but was completely tasteless. I think it was bread machine bread which has a tendancy to be really flat tasting...whoever made this bread forgot to put in the salt to unify the flavors. The lobster arrived and Greg said it was really sweet and perfectly cooked. He had a great time tearing into it and ate every bite. My chicken came out next with a side of garlic mashed potatos. It was a boneless breast with a lemon caper sauce on top., (no capers to be found though). I carved into it and found that it was undercooked and still pink in the middle. I asked the owner, who stood at a bar table next to us with his friends all evening, to have it cooked a bit more because it was still pink in the middle and he looked at me and said "so you want it well done?" and I immediately said, "well, I'd like it cooked so its not raw in the middle." when it came back, it was cooked through and was really tasty. The caper sauce was actually sweet onion garlic and lemon that was really nice. The garlic mashed potatos were good, needed to be a less dense. They were unceremoniously plopped on my plate with an ice cream scoop, reminding me of institutional food. I was served my white chicken and white potatoes on a white plate with no garnish or side vegetables....in fact, no vegetables were offered at all. Even though the food was good, there needs to be a bit of creativity on the plate if one wants to be a wine bar and not a diner.

Desserts were lemon merengue, apple or bluberry pie and we passed, craving something a bit more in keeping with a nicer meal, some chocolate confection or rich cheesecake (we stopped at Darby's on the way home and split carrot cake and another drink.)

We got out of there for about $50.00 for four drinks and dinner. Not bad at all. I do think it will be a total tourist draw in the summer. One thing I have to mention that really got to us was the acoustics in the place. It might have just been the loud people at the bar, but we could hear every word and every laugh coming from every corner to the point that it was annoying as hell. A couple of single women at the bar were flirting with a guy and they were shouting and laughing this really shrill laugh that grated. Maybe a carpet to deaden the voices.

I left liking the food, but not the restaurant itself. I wanted more from a place that bills itself as a wine bar. Wine bars should have jazz piano playing softly in the background, should be dark and cozy, should have white tablecloths and waiters in white aprons. Perhaps I am expecting too much, because this is the way wine bars are in the big city. Papa J's is essentially a diner with good food lamely disguised as a restaurant.

Atmosphere: B-

Food: B (would have been higher save for the uncooked chicken, lack of vegetables and bad bread)

Service: A

Enjoy!

Seth

Food musings from Florida part 2

I was just over on the beach watching the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico and thinking about some of the other food experiments I tried this winter that
I have not shared but should. I'll write them down here and then probably put the recipes on site when I get home. If there is something in these musings that you absolutely must try, shoot me a comment or an email, mostly so that I know that David, aka "my biggest fan" is really not the only person who reads these. There was a wonderful woman who emailed me a while back, but I bet I lost her in my winter inertia.

Anyway, one of the hits of recent dinners in Maine Foodie's kitchen was a very simple yet tasty Chicken curry with mashed acorn squash and a delicious wild rice mix I found at the Coop in Belfast.

One dish that needs more experimenting, but got raves (I love the attention, I think thats why I cook) was a spicy potato encrusted chicken breast that I made up. It was really tasty, but definitely needed help in the crispy potato department. This evolved out of making pecan and cornmeal encrusted pork chops...maybe thats what I'll make the old folks tomorrow night (can you say geriatric dinner party? I knew you could) We are having my grandparent's friends for dinner....my grandparents died in the early '80s if this gives you a hint as to age here!

Ok, time to wrap up the ramblings and clean the kitchen (the other reason I cook...I usually don't have to clean, but since Mom made spagetti, I get to scour...oh my cuticles!

Enjoy!

Seth

Food Musings

Maine Foodie has been so busy with his day job that he hasn't had time to write about anything in such a long time. Now that I am down in Florida for a bit of a rest, it might be good to update things a bit. Because I've been so busy commuting from Maine to New York and points beyond, Greg and I haven't had much of a chance to dine out. We've been making comfort food a lot...in fact, if I ever open a restaurant around these parts, thats what I want to call it..."Comfort Food." Serving things we had as children, but with a flair. I've been perfecting my meatloaf and found that putting whole grain oatmeal in as a binder is really a nice touch. Also making a kick-ass whole wheat-cormeal pizza dough with fresh rosemary and seasalt as well as a fabulously easy lentil soup with sausage.mmmm mmmm mmmm. I promise to post these soon, right now I have to imbibe on my mom's spagetti and meatballs....damn its good to be home sometimes.

Enjoy,
Seth

Update on Three Tides, Belfast

We had one one of the best meals we've had at Three Tides last night. It was our anniversary and we decided to spend the evening with friends, so we went to Three Tides and sat at the bar. We were able to snatch bits of conversation with David and Sara, the owners, who are great friends of ours. They reserved us two seats at the far end of the bar and poured champagne for us when we got there.

The chef, Tom, prepared the most beautiful delectable scallops surrounding a small bed of greens for Greg. I had the quesadilla with chicken, extra crispy just for me and we shared a tomato basil and mozzarella salad.

The new desserts by "Let Them Eat Cake" of Belfast were out of this world, a definite improvement over the desserts from now defunct Periwinkles (And thats a tall order, because those desserts were really good) We sampled the carrot cake with a caramel prailene center and the decadent coffee chocolate fudge cake. mmmmmmm David, if you're reading this, we had an excellent time last night..thank you! Of course the atmosphere at 3Tides is the best around. Three cheers for David, Sara, and little Luna!

Food A+

Atmosphere A

Verve A++

Enjoy,

Seth

Hideaway Diner, Northport

This is an update of a place that used to be one of our favorite, easy places to go for dinner. Its been taken over in the last year or so and has really gone downhill rapidly. Last night's food was terrible! There was only one table occupied save for the table the owner was using and it was a "special menu" night (Mexican Fiesta) as well as their normal menu.

Every once in a while, when we are tired and working late, we want to just go someplace cheap and cheerful for dinner....well, that just doesn't exist here on the midcoast..so we go to the hideaway, which is at least cheap. The decor is old, tacky and a bit dirty. They have removed traditional diner food like burgers and chicken strips and hot dogs from the menu in favor of things they think will impress the locals...like smothered beef tips and chicken parmesan. Yuck is what I have to say to this.

Greg, of course, always has the fried haddock which he said was fair to mediocre. Me, I found it hard to order something safe from the menu to order. Tried to order the roast turkey, but they were out of it...tried to order the pork, but they were out of that too....had to have the chicken parm, because it was the next safest looking thing....it arrived just as I knew it would....fried chicken strips sitting in overdone greasy pasta covered in bottled sauce with parmesan cheese on top and then microwaved......my stomach is still greasy!

Food D+

Atmosphere D-

Enjoy while I go out and get a bromo seltzer,

Seth

Tournadoes of Beef with a Red Wine Sauce

Last night we used up the leftover beef fillet that we had from my birthday last week and invited some friends into share. I searched for a recipe for redwine sauce and found one where I didn't have half the ingredients. I figured that I would substitute stuff to see what happened and it came out with rave reviews from everyone.

2 tblspoons canola oil

1 leek chopped

4 cloves garlic

1 tblspoon sugar

2 tblspoons redwine vinegar

3/4 bottle red wine

1 can chicken broth

1 can beef broth (I didn't have any and used a mixture of kitchen bouquet and worcestershire)

teaspoon ground thyme

1 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 tblspoon butter

1 tblspoon flour

sautee leek and garlic in oil until tender and add sugar and vinegar..cook down for about 5 minutes. Add red wine and boil down to about 3/4s of what you put in (10 minutes or so) then add chicken and beef broth and let boil for 1/2 hour or so. Add thyme, peppercorns, and white pepper and simmer for another 20 minutes to blend, stirring occasionally.

Run mixture through a sieve and place back on heat. Meantime melt butter and add flour, mix and add to redwine sauce and stir. adjust with salt and pepper accordingly.

I then wrapped the tournadoes in bacon and tied off with kitchen string. Sauteed in butter for four-five minutes per side, slipped out of pan, untied the string and took off the bacon, added fresh pepper and salt on tops and served with sauce, spinach, and garlic mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!

Seth

Chocolate Orange Fruitcake

The fruitcake hater's fruitcake

Cake
2 1/2 cups large pecan pieces, toasted
1 cup (packed) chopped dried black Mission figs
1 cup (packed) chopped pitted prunes1 cup (packed) chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
2 tablespoons grated orange peel

3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup (packed) unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1-pound box dark brown sugar
6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
4 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup purchased prune butter

Glaze
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 pound bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons orange juice concentrate, thawed
Chopped candied fruit peel (optional)

For cake:Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 325°F. Generously butter and flour 12-cup angel food cake pan. Combine toasted pecans, chopped dried figs, prunes, dates, orange juice concentrate, Grand Marnier and grated orange peel in large bowl. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Sift flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Combine brown sugar and 6 ounces chocolate in processor and chop into small pieces.
Using electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese in large bowl to blend. Add chocolate mixture and beat until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in prune butter. Stir in 1/4 of dry ingredients. Mix in fruit mixture and remaining dry ingredients in 3 additions each.
Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted near center with a few moist crumbs attached, about 1 hour 55 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Turn pan over onto rack; let stand 5 minutes. Lift off pan; cool cake completely. Wrap cake in plastic and store at room temperature 2 days.
For Glaze:Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate; stir until melted and smooth. Whisk in orange juice concentrate.
Place cake on rack. Spread some of chocolate glaze thickly over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Spread remaining chocolate glaze over cake, covering completely. Sprinkle with chopped candied fruit peel, if desired. Refrigerate cake 30 minutes to set glaze. (Fruitcake can be prepared 3 weeks ahead. Wrap cake in plastic and refrigerate.)

Decadent Christmas Gingerbread

Greg and I usually make something to give to friends and family for the holidays. I try to do something different every year, but there was so much pressure on us to make our decadent holiday gingerbread that I caved and made a whole bunch this year. This is a really moist, dense, and strongly rich treat. It is important to do several things with this recipe. One is to whisk all the ingredients together to maintain the air inside the batter, another is to make sure to generously butter and flour the bundt pan, the last is to make sure and use a bundt or a springform pan with the hole in the middle or else the cake will not cook. LOAF PANS DO NOT WORK HERE! One can find oatmeal stout at speciality stores like Trader Joe's. Otherwise, the Guinness Stout works just fine..though I've always wondered what honey brown ale would do. This is the gingerbread recipe from the Gramercy Tavern in New York City

1 cup oatmeal stout or Guinness Stout
1 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cardamom
3 large eggs
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Confectioners sugar for dusting

10" bundt pan

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Generously butter bundt pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess. (very important)
Bring stout and molasses to a boil in a large saucepan and remove from heat. Whisk in baking soda, then cool to room temperature.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl. Whisk together eggs and sugars. Whisk in oil, then molasses mixture. Add to flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
Pour batter into bundt pan and rap pan sharply on counter to eliminate air bubbles. Bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs adhering, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely.
Serve cake, dusted with confectioners sugar, with whipped cream.

Enjoy,
Seth

Logos Pub, Belfast

Greg and I finally set foot into Logos Pub, after several years of passing it by. We had cabin fever yesterday afternoon and went to town to do some errands. We were on our way from the bank to Bay City Wraps and decided to try the Logo's lunch specials for $3.95. I was pleasantly suprised by the interior of the bar which had a lot more to look at that was interesting than most bars in the area. Interesting decor, clean, friendly, and the TV was tuned to an HGTV apartment facelift show..what more could two boys want????

Anyway, besides the regular menu, Logos offers $3.95 lunch specials. Yesterday there were crab cake sandwiches, spinach lasagna, squash soup, and a few other items. I opted for Lasagna and Greg had the Crab Cake sandwich. We sat at the bar as the only customers and had our sodas. Its so nice that one cannot smoke in bars anymore...it makes the whole experience so much more pleasant.

Food arrived and I thought to myself that it looked straight out of a food service package...which it probably was. Cost them a $1.95 and a bit of electricity to nuke and voila! Greg said that his crab was actually Krab and that there wasn't much to boot. The lasagna definately tasted like a cheaper version of Stouffer's.

I might go again to try something off the regular menu. Someone came in and had a quesadilla...also food service by the look of the thing, but it did look better than the lasagna.

Food: C+

Atmosphere B+/ A-

Enjoy!

Seth

Ice Cream Cake

Its Shane's birthday today and, as I usually do, I asked him what his favorite cake would be....of course he says "mmm Ice Cream cake with the oreo crunchies on the inside" So, I got out my largest spring form pan, lined it with parchment paper and then spread out softened moose tracks icecream on the bottom...then a layer of crushed oreo cookies with the chocolate cream center, then a layer of vanilla. The whole thing went back into the freezer to harden again. Then I whipped up some cream for the frosting and covered the whole thing, transferring it to a plate after taking it out of the spring form. Much to my dismay, the darn thing didn't fit in the freezer! Its outside in the snow right now...I do hope it hardens up a bit out there.

I'll add decorative icing and thats about it...easy as that. I was going to do a caramel layer in the middle, but I didn't have any corn syrup handy.

For the rest of the meal we are having grilled chicken breasts with bar-b-que sauce and melted American cheese, French Fries and peas.......thats what you get when you ask what an 18 year old wants for his birthday dinner!

Enjoy,

Seth

Today is the first day of my swearing off butter, sugar, and flour....whats a food addicted boy supposed to do????? Greg and I have a deal together. He gives up cigarettes and alcohol and I give up the above mentioned stuff AND go to the gym four times a week for a period of three months. After that, we can extend it or go forward.

Sorry fans...that is if anyone really reads this....Maine Foodie's site might be a bit boring for a while.....who cares about recipes for skinless grilled chicken and peas????

Enjoy,

Seth

Pumpkin Cheesecake

A friend asked me to send her my pumpkin cheesecake recipe from Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd just write it down here and take it from there. I combined a traditional pumpkin cheesecake with my tried and true New York Cheesecake recipe, which made for a very light, almost whipped cheesecake.

Here goes:

butter a 9" springform pan and cover the bottom with a mixture of graham cracker crumbs and butter with a good sprinkle of ground ginger. Set in fridge to chill

In a large bowl with a mixer cream:

1 lb each softened cream cheese and ricotta cheese until light and fluffy. Add 1 cup sugar and beat in 5 room temperature eggs, one at a time until completely incorporated. Add 1/3 cup flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon each of fresh ground nutmeg and ground cloves. 1/4 teaspoon of allspice and a dash of salt. Also add some ginger for a spicier cheesecake.

Fold in one cup of sour cream and then one can of pumpkin puree, making sure the pumpkin is incorporated fully.

Place in a preheated slow oven at 325 degrees for 1.5 hours. (the top will be cracked when done) turn off oven but do not open door and let the cheesecake dry for another 1.5 hours. Best the next day.

Cover completed cheesecake in sugared pecans:

in a medium saucepan combine 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water and cook to 280 degrees on a candy thermometer. Turn off heat and pour in chopped pecans, stirring to coat. Turn out onto greased cookie sheet and let cool. break up with kitchen mallet and sprinkle on cheesecake.

Our 18 year old nephew lives with us now. Never seen the outside of Palm Beach County before, so there are loads of new things for him to experience. I turned him onto Chai last night as an alternative to coffee, which he can't stand but drinks to stay warm up here in the hinterlands.

I've been showing him how to cook a few things. His boss, a chef at a great restaurant near here, *see the review for Atlantica from last summer* has convinced him to apply for a spot at CIA, the Culinary Institute of America. He's all excited about it and really wants to go. Trouble is, its a bit expensive. When the packet arrived from the school, there was a list of creative ways to finance the tuition. Here is the best part of that...and here is where I need your help.

Shane has a chance to win a $4000 scholarship to CIA by submitting the best apple pie recipe from the northeast. He's been practicing, but needs a kick-ass pastry recipe to really stand out.
So, I call on anyone who reads this who might have great-grandmother's ancient recipe for the best apple pie from the old country, or a modified version of the recipe from the back of the Ritz cracker box to give me a shout and use the comment space to tell me about the recipe. PLEASE! I'm serious here.
Thanks

Enjoy,
Seth

OK, maybe I've been up too long already today, but while getting the turkey ready for the herb rub, I was listening to NPR and there was a chef on talking about butterflying the turkey at his house. He says it cuts down on the roasting time by half and is kind of gratifying because one has to pound down the turkey to make it flat! All one does is carefully cut down either side of the backbone, taking away the ribs and any other small bones.

Good idea I thought! I'll just cut that backbone out with a pair of kitchen shears (which I found in the first drawer that I opened...a feat in this house with three batchelors putting stuff away from the dishwasher!)
So, I hacked away at the backbone and opened the turkey up, splayed it out on my marble board and then pounded the crap out of it with a kitchen mallet. It was a fantastic feeling! Highly recommended!

I then separated the skin from the breast with my fingers and shoved the cilantro rub inside. Either my turkey will suck, or it will be interesting. I guess my advice about this is to do a test run before making Thanksgiving for 14 and deciding to try something new with the main course on the morning of the "big day."


Its ok though, we are having a buffet and margaritas, so things should be pretty relaxed today.

Have a Great Thanksgiving.....a report later on how things went here in Northport.

Enjoy,
Seth

I've been thinking about how to prepare my turkey for over a week now. We are having two turkeys this year because the guest list keeps growing...not sure I can cook a 30 lb bird! So far we have 17 people and I'm sure it will top 20 by Thursday.

Anyway. Greg is grilling a turkey outside. We found the perfect recipe for him....Turkey with a tawny port basting broth. mmmmm

I want to do something completely off the wall for me, so I finally decided to make a spicy turkey with a cilantro rub for under the skin.

I'll take a bunch of fresh cilantro and chop it up really fine before mixing it with garlic, chipotle powder, cayenne and line juice. I'll stuff the cavity with sliced hot peppers, onions, and lime wedges. Perhaps we should have margaritas as well. hmmmmmmm

I'm also making a spicy pumpkin cheesecake...yum

Happy Thanksgiving!
Seth

Here is a great leftover dish my Mom used to call:

Chicken Tits and Worms

Pick over your roast chicken or turkey from the night before and chop the meat into small bits with your kitchen shears

Put a pot of water on to boil and cook your favorite pasta

Thats about where I end following dear old mummy's recipe and forge ahead on my own.

Depending on how much you are making, here is a wonderful Bechamel sauce recipe that works great every time. It makes about a cup, but you can double it if you feel the need

3/4 cup milk or half and half

3/4 cup chicken stock

(or conversely, you can use 1.5 cups of milk and a bouillon cube)

put liquid in a glass measuring cup with:

1/4 wedge yellow onion

whole peppercorns or fresh white pepper

dash of grated nutmeg

1 bayleaf

pinch of cayanne

salt

two pinches crumbled rosemary.

put in microwave for 6 minutes on low to medium heat. Make sure the milk doesn't boil over

but be sure it gets warm.

meanwhile

melt 2 tablespoons butter

and two tablespoons flour in a pot. Constantly stir to cook, but do not brown.

Strain milk and pour over flour butter mixture. Discard onion bayleaf mess.

stir until thickened.

Add 1 cup grated cheese...chedder works best, or some leftover cocktail cheeses gouda and havarti or something. Stir stir stir and take off heat.

Combine chicken and pasta in an ovenproof bowl and pour cheese sauce overtop. Place in 350 degree oven until you can smell the nutmeg cooking and the sauce is bubbly.

Makes a bit of a mess, but its super easy.

Enjoy,

Seth

Went to see Bridget Jones II last night with the girls. Before that we went to Rollie's in Belfast for dinner. Tried to go to Darby's but the waitress essentially turned us away because we didn't have a reservation, nor did she feel like putting two tables of four together for us. She was extremely rude and we just turned around laughing because of the attitude at a restaurant in Belfast, off-season!

Anyway, I had a very nice calzone at Rollies, probably one of the nicer meals that I've had there. Just wanted to give you an update.

Enjoy!
Seth

Wouldn't you know it, while I sat down here to write out the dish I'd made several nights ago for dinner, I spilled tea on my keyboard. I spent two days waiting for it to dry out...to no avail...so I had to get a new keyboard and in the meantime I kind of forgot what I put in the recipe to make it good. Well, here goes.

Lamb and beef shepard's pie

We tend to eat the same dishes over and over again because they are easy and I can do them by rote and its easy to go to the store. We have what we call "Little Chickie" night at least once every two weeks where we roast a chicken and have veggies and taters or something like that. Its mostly comfort food in this house and essentially I am gathering some good recipes together for when I open a restaurant and call it "Comfort Food." This Lamb dish would be an excellent addition. I didn't know how it would go over with the boys, but they loved it and ate almost the whole pan full in one night!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

make your favorite mashed potatoes. I leave the skin on my potatos and toss them with lots of butter and salt..a bit of chicken broth and garlic and top it off with fresh ground pepper

olive oil

1/4-1/2 cup chopped onions

3 cloves minced garlic

1 lb ground lamb

1/2 lb ground beef

salt pepper to taste

a few crumbles of dried rosemary and oregano

1/2 cup beef bouillon

a splash of red wine

tablespoon of melted butter and one of flour mixed together and stirred in as a thickener

Sautee onions and garlic together with hot olive oil in an iron skillet and add lamb and beef browning and cooking. Drain off fat and excess liquid while cooking. After draining, add salt and pepper and herbs..continue cooking. Add bouillon, wine and butter/flour mixture

1/2 cup cut baby carrots

1 bunch baby asparagus tops and middles cut into 2" lengths

any other veggies you want

Add the carrots and and stir into meat mixture. After 5 minutes add asparagus and take off heat. mix well. Add mashed taters to the top of the skillet and place in oven until the potatos are crispy and golden brown on top.

Enjoy!

Seth

I'm reading this book, its a detective story where the amatur sleuth is a caterer of all things. Throughout the book, when the character isn't looking for clues to the murder, she's making stuff up in her kitchen and she supplies the recipes in the storyline! She had this one dish that was potato encrusted monkfish...since I'm allergic to seafood, I usually don't prepare it...so I adapted the concept to bonless chicken breast. I remember reading the recipe, but I didn't follow it, and ended up making my own recipe up. Here it is...I think it needs tweaking here and there, but the crew raved, said it was the best chickenbreast recipe they had eaten. Go figure!

Potato Encrusted Chicken Breast with Sauteed Fresh Vegetables

Four washed and trimmed boneless skinless chicken breasts

3-4 cups of grated raw potato (i used purple potatos since its what I had at hand) dried

three eggs

two cloves fresh garlic or shallots

pinch of cayanne

ground sea salt

pepper

vegetable oil for frying

Add the garlic or shallots to your grated raw potato

wisk the eggs cayanne, salt and pepper together to make an egg dip.

salt and pepper the chicken breast, dip in the egg mixture and then roll in the potato to fully cover. (you may have to pat down the potato to make it stick)

Place chicken breast in hot oil and sear each side on high for 1 minute. Turn heat to medium and cover, allowing the potato to brown and get crunchy. About 5- 7 minutes a side. Drain on paper towels and serve with:

Fresh vegetables sauteed with butter and leeks.

broccoli crowns

baby carrots

sugar snap peas

leeks

heat up butter and add fresh vegetables except peas and leeks

sautee with salt and pepper for five minutes

add sugar snap peas and the leeks

sautee for another five mintutes and serve.

Enjoy!

Seth

As usual yesterday, we got up early to go to church. Now for those of you who either follow this ramble religously or just plain know us in the flesh, church is a spiritual place for us on Sunday mornings because we see all our old friends and chat people up. They have great coffee, which one needs in order to bargain at the tables strewn with life's little cast offs. Thats right, church is a fleamarket where we go almost every Sunday morning. We like to expose some of our friends to church as well, and it has now become a ritual with people. Some call the night before to make sure the eccumenical express (my truck) comes and stops at their door the next morning...some, like Vicky, call at 7:15 to tell us they are dressed and ready to go. More often than not, Vicky calls to wake us up!
What does this have to do with restaurant reviews you say? We usually go to breakfast afterwards. I don't write about this every week, because we love going to Dudley's in Belfast...best breakfast we've found so far and for the best price too. Alas, Dudley's was closed for a weeks worth of R&R so we decided to try the CO-OP brunch.
Now the CO-OP is a strange place for me. I find it pretentious, expensive, and downright unfriendly most times. They do have good bulk food and some of those speciality items one cannot find elsewhere. Its apparently the largest and most successful food cooperative in the state, but try and get a question answered...forget about it if they don't know you! We get there and I commented on the fact that they were already selling Christmas wreaths in the parking lot. I thought they should be selling Christmas Wreath making kits on recycled paper instead. Greg commented that the wreaths were made from boughs that had been gently blown off trees and were found already lying on the ground. He He He.

The Co-op Brunch, Belfast Maine

The food sounded good. Greg ordered an omlette with scallions, mushrooms, and swiss cheese with homefries and multigrained toast. I had two eggs with bacon homefries, toast and black spiced chai. A side of what looked like a good piece of coffee cake completed the meal. Everyone else had eggs with the homefries and toast as well. We ordered, found a table, chatted and went to get our orders as they called our names. The presentation was very nice, but the eggs were a bit liquidy, the homefries hard and undercooked and the toast was very, very, lightly toasted and cold. Greg's was the same. His mushrooms were undercooked as well. The coffee cake was moist, but didn't have the gooey sugary-cinnamon taste that one craves in coffee cake....I mean, why have coffee cake if it won't get you going on a sugar high??? Oh, Heather found the guy behind the counter taking orders kind of rude, as did we, but she got into a flap with him over taking a menu off a table.

The chai was a nice complement and the place was pretty cozy. The photographs on the wall for sale were just excellent and I would recommend that you go just for that.

Anyway I rate the place an A- for atmosphere and a C+ for food.

Enjoy!

Seth

I've been away for too long! Sorry about being MIA for the last few months, but with a trip to Alaska in August and mainefoodie's real job getting so busy..there was just not enough hours in the day. PLUS we never went anywhere new around here!

So, it gives me great pleasure to say that I have finally eaten at the A1 Diner in Gardiner Maine...a place that I have been dying to try for such a long time. Greg, our irreverent friend Mary, and I took a road trip to Portland over Halloween weekend to see Mary's daughter in a play called "Zombies." It was quite a night to say the least.

but onto the review:

The A1 Diner, Gardiner, Maine

I love diner food and have been hearing and reading about the A1 for a long time. From what I heard, it not only served traditional diner food, but also served a bit fancier fare. I was very excited when the group took my "suggestion" that we stop there for lunch on our way to Portland. The diner is in an old rail car and is festooned with chrome and stainless steel everywhere. The interior was the original art deco, a bit down at the heals, but groovy nonetheless. I looked around at my surrounds and found that the original 1930s deco interior was pretty much intact, including the green slag glass in the cleristory (time to get out your dictionaries, though I'm not sure I spelled "cleristory" correctly.

We opened the menus and were happy to find so many choices. I ordered Tuscan minestrone and the Spicy Basque chicken paiella with peas. The soup was fantastic and came with a flaky biscuit. The paiella was not so spicy and a bit sticky and mushy for me. I'd give it a B for effort.

Mary went all out and had a calimari Greek salad. She said it was good for a diner...the calimari was not too chewy, and the salad portion was really large. Greg stayed with the traditional and ordered a bacon cheesburger which looked great...big and juicy. He also ordered the onion rings which were great. I prefer mine seasoned, but these were very crispy and tasty too.

We passed on the pie selection because we figured that we needed to walk and not roll out of the joint. All in all a nice place. Because of the atmosphere, I would try the place again, maybe for dinner some night.

Overall rating B+

July 4th Catered Affair

Ok, well we survived our first catering job, and even picked up another one from the party. The July 4th party was a family reunion for about 25 people and the day was to be fairly casual. I came up with a menu of hot and cold starters, then a course of mussels and steamers, then lobster and filet mignon. The host made tequila and limeade drinks and everyone was happy!
We had a ton of food left over and so I made a seafood chowder with the leftover potato salad, mussels and clams. It was a big hit with the host of the party.

I made savory sausage puffs which appear in the archives somewhere on this site already.
The cumin spiced cheese sticks served with a parmesan marinara sauce were also a great hit.
We made a kick-butt salsa and added fresh mint for a bit of a change...Got comments both ways on that, but when someone said it was the best they had ever tasted, that cheered me up.
I also made pounds and pounds of Roasted 3-potato salad with asparagus tips in a red wine thyme vineigarette dressing. By the time this came around people were stuffed! It became the base of my seafood chowder and added quite a twist to the recipe.

Cumin Spiced Cheese Straws
4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded fine (about 1 1/4 cups)
same amount Parmesan
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 sheet (about 1/2 pound) frozen puff pastry, thawed
an egg wash made by beating 1 large egg with 2 teaspoons water
coarse sea salt to taste
garlic powder to taste


In a small bowl toss together all cheddar, 1/2 parmesan cheese, 1/2 of the ground cumin, garlic powder, and 1/2 of the cayenne.

On a lightly floured surface roll out pastry into a 14- by 12-inch rectangle and brush with some egg wash. Cut pastry in half crosswise, forming two 12- by 7-inch rectangles. Sprinkle cheese over 1 rectangle and top with other rectangle, egg-wash side down, pressing it firmly to force out any air pockets. Roll pastry out slightly to make layers adhere (rectangle should be about 12 1/2 by 7 1/2 inches). Brush pastry with some remaining egg wash and sprinkle evenly with remaining parm, garlic, cumin, cayanne, and sea salt.

With a pastry wheel, pizza cutter, or sharp knife cut pastry into strips about 7 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Twist strips and arrange on buttered baking sheets, pressing ends onto sheet to keep strips twisted. Cheese straws may be prepared up to this point 2 weeks ahead. Freeze cheese straws on baking sheets 1 hour, or until frozen, and transfer to a resealable freezer bag. Do not thaw cheese straws before proceeding.

Serve with a simple marinara sauce
I made:
2-3 fresh tomatoes chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic
pinch of sugar
splash of marsalla wine
salt / pepper to taste
1 tblspoon parmesan

Sautee first five ingredients until broken down and thick and add parmesan. Serve hot with just baked cheese straws

Enjoy,
Seth